‘ Do not send the money…’

‘ Do not send the money…’

CCSO investigator issues warning after local woman duped out of $ 1,500 in IRS scam

news@theeveningtimes.com

It’s a scam. Most often it’s senior citizens that fall for it. It happened this week in Crittenden County and cost one resident $1,500 before catching on. Crittenden County Sheriff Department Chief Criminal Investigator Todd Groom has had enough of it and wanted to warn and educate the public about phone solicitors claiming that the IRS wants to arrest you.

Chief Grooms indicated ignoring the calls that claim the IRS has an arrest warrant out for you is the best way to prevent being sucked into the scam. The IRS always communicates by mail and never employs phone solicitors.

“If you are talking to the real IRS by phone, it’s because you called them,” said Grooms.

Here is the pitch the phone scammers use. “They say their name and that they are with the U.S.

government,” said Grooms. “The IRS has a warrant for your arrest but if you send me this money we can clear up the warrant and you won’t have anything to worry about.”

The caller ID showing on your phone may look official with a Washington D.C. or big city area code but the scammers counterfeit these numbers to disguise themselves. The callers are usually from out of the country. “They spoof their numbers,” said Groom. “I have visited with an AT& T tech and heard from a federal law enforcement agency that this is possible and that is how the scammers are operating.”

Fake numbers have made it hard on investigators to catch the thieves.

“With a spoofed number we really don’t know where to start looking,” said Groom. “The FBI told me the calls are from foreign countries and by the time it’s tracked down the bad guys have shut it down and moved somewhere else. It’s nearly impossible to prosecute.”

The best way not to be lured in is to be confident its a scam when you hear it. The whole sting has played on the fear most people have of the authority behind the IRS. But the solution offered seems all to easy – with some money you can clear this up today. Once that fear is instilled the scammers ask for the money.

“In this particular case, they had them put money on prepaid credit cards,” said Grooms. “Then they called the victim back to get the information and quickly drained the credit cards.”

The best defense is to be prepared.

“I get these calls myself,” said Grooms. “I just hang up on them. The best thing we can do is educate the public and tell them do not send the money.”

By John Rech